# 2023–24 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team

The 2023–24 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team represented the University of North Texas during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by first-year head coach Ross Hodge, and played their home games at UNT Coliseum in Denton, Texas as first year members of the American Athletic Conference.

## Previous season

The Mean Green finished the 2022–23 season 31–7, 16–4 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They defeated Louisiana Tech in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament before losing to UAB. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 2 seed. They defeated Alcorn State, Sam Houston, Oklahoma State, and Wisconsin to advance to the championship game. There they defeated C-USA foe UAB to win the NIT championship.
On March 31, 2023, head coach Grant McCasland left the school to take the head coaching position at Texas Tech. On April 2, the school named associate head coach Ross Hodge the team's new head coach.
The season marked the team's last season as members of Conference USA before joining the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Rasheed Browne | 0 | G | 6'2" | 182 | RS Senior | Philadelphia, PA | Graduated |
| Bryce Zephir | 2 | G | 6'2" | 200 | Junior | Carson, CA | Transferred to Salt Lake CC |
| Tyree Eady | 4 | G | 6'5" | 215 | RS Senior | Middleton, Wi | Graduated |
| Tylor Perry | 5 | G | 5'11" | 182 | Senior | Fort Coffee, OK | Graduate transferred to Kansas State |
| Kai Huntsberry | 10 | G | 6'3" | 215 | Senior | New Orleans, LA | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Arsh Mattu | 13 | G | 6'3" | 192 | RS Sophomore | Lewisville, TX | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Jayden Martinez | 25 | F | 6'7" | 215 | GS Senior | Cibolo, TX | Graduated |
| Abou Ousmane | 33 | F | 6'10" | 230 | Junior | Brooklyn, NY | Transferred to Xavier |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| John Buggs | 0 | G | 6'3" | 185 | RS Junior | Homer, LA | UTSA |
| Jason Edwards | 2 | G | 6'0" | | RS Sophomore | Atlanta, GA | Dodge City CC |
| Rondel Walker | 5 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Junior | Midwest City, OK | TCU |
| Robert Allen | 10 | F | 6'8" | 230 | GS Senior | Orlando, FL | Ole Miss |
| Terrance Dixon | 13 | F | 6'8" | 200 | Sophomore | Phoenix, AZ | Kilgore College |
| C. J. Noland | 22 | G | 6'2" | 229 | Junior | Waxahachie, TX | Oklahoma |

### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Alex Cotton SG | Carrollton, TX | Hebron High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 19, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 25, 2023. ||||||

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2024) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Layne Taylor PG | Farmington, AR | Farmington High School | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Aug 27, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Layne Taylor SG | Plano, TX | Plano Sr. High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 10, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 25, 2023. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 29, 2023* 2:00 p.m. | | Sam Houston Charity Exhibition | W 63–53 | | 16 – Edwards | 9 – Allen | 4 – Jones | The Super Pit (5,000) Denton, TX |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 83–77 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | 26 – Scott | 9 – Allen | 5 – Jones | The Super Pit (4,415) Denton, TX |
| November 11, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Omaha | W 75–64 | 2–0 | 18 – Tied | 8 – Allen | 8 – Jones | The Super Pit (3,533) Denton, TX |
| November 16, 2023* 12:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. St. John's Charleston Classic quarterfinals | L 52–53 | 2–1 | 13 – Scott | 9 – Allen | 3 – Jones | TD Arena Charleston, SC |
| November 17, 2023* 10:30 a.m., ESPNU | | vs. LSU Charleston Classic consolation 2nd round | L 62–66 | 2–2 | 22 – Edwards | 9 – Allen | 3 – Jones | TD Arena Charleston, SC |
| November 19, 2023* 11:30 a.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Towson Charleston Classic 7th Place Game | W 65–39 | 3–2 | 19 – Tied | 9 – Allen | 5 – Jones | TD Arena Charleston, SC |
| November 26, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Angelo State | W 79–50 | 4–2 | 14 – Scott | 7 – Sissoko | 5 – Jones | The Super Pit (2,865) Denton, TX |
| December 2, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mississippi Valley State | W 79–48 | 5–2 | 15 – Jones | 11 – Allen | 3 – Tied | The Super Pit (3,065) Denton, TX |
| December 5, 2023* 8:00 p.m., MWN | | at Boise State | L 64–69 | 5–3 | 20 – Edwards | 9 – Allen | 3 – Noland | ExtraMile Arena (9,865) Boise, ID |
| December 10, 2023* 10:30 a.m. | | vs. Fordham NABC Brooklyn Showcase | L 59–60 | 5–4 | 10 – Charlton | 6 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| December 17, 2023* 3:00 p.m. | | vs. Mississippi State | L 54–72 | 5–5 | 20 – Jones | 7 – Sissoko | 3 – Edwards | Cadence Bank Arena (2,662) Tupelo, MS |
| December 23, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Arlington | W 78–52 | 6–5 | 26 – Edwards | 7 – Sissoko | 5 – Noland | The Super Pit (3,357) Denton, TX |
| December 30, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | LSU–Shreveport | W 80–57 | 7–5 | 16 – Jones | 10 – Allen | 5 – Scott | The Super Pit (3,091) Denton, TX |
| AAC regular season |||||||||
| January 4, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Wichita State | W 74–62 | 8–5 (1–0) | 18 – Scott | 11 – Sissoko | 4 – Jones | Charles Koch Arena (5,531) Wichita, KS |
| January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Tulane | W 70–56 | 9–5 (2–0) | 37 – Edwards | 16 – Allen | 5 – Allen | The Super Pit (3,374) Denton, TX |
| January 13, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Temple | W 69–51 | 10–5 (3–0) | 16 – Edwards | 7 – Scott | 3 – Tied | The Super Pit (3,310) Denton, TX |
| January 17, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | W 60–59 | 11–5 (4–0) | 20 – Edwards | 11 – Allen | 3 – Edwards | Williams Arena (4,287) Greenville, NC |
| January 20, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Charlotte | L 44–56 | 11–6 (4–1) | 13 – Scott | 10 – Allen | 2 – Noland | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,514) Charlotte, NC |
| January 25, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | SMU | W 68–66 | 12–6 (5–1) | 22 – Edwards | 10 – Allen | 5 – Noland | The Super Pit (7,239) Denton, TX |
| January 28, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 22 Florida Atlantic | L 63–66 | 12–7 (5–2) | 16 – Edwards | 9 – Walker | 3 – Noland | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161) Boca Raton, FL |
| January 31, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | UAB | L 79–82 $^{OT}$ | 12–8 (5–3) | 31 – Edwards | 11 – Walker | 2 – Tied | The Super Pit (3,689) Denton, TX |
| February 3, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Florida | L 55–60 | 12–9 (5–4) | 31 – Edwards | 10 – Walker | 5 – Scott | The Super Pit (4,316) Denton, TX |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulsa | W 68–55 | 13–9 (6–4) | 18 – Scott | 10 – Scott | 2 – Scott | Reynolds Center (4,054) Tulsa, OK |
| February 11, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at SMU | L 68–71 | 13–10 (6–5) | 18 – Edwards | 7 – Scott | 3 – Tied | Moody Coliseum (5,742) Dallas, TX |
| February 15, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Memphis | W 76–66 | 14–10 (7–5) | 30 – Edwards | 9 – Walker | 5 – Walker | The Super Pit (5,689) Denton, TX |
| February 18, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UAB | L 62–71 | 14–11 (7–6) | 29 – Edwards | 8 – Scott | 4 – Edwards | Bartow Arena (4,785) Birmingham, AL |
| February 24, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | UTSA | L 62–64 | 14–12 (7–7) | 15 – Edwards | 9 – Allen | 2 – Tied | The Super Pit (5,247) Denton, TX |
| February 28, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulane | W 80–76 | 15–12 (8–7) | 19 – Scott | 7 – Allen | 6 – Tied | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,409) New Orleans, LA |
| March 3, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Carolina | W 84–69 | 16–12 (9–7) | 18 – Tied | 7 – Allen | 6 – Jones | The Super Pit (4,241) Denton, TX |
| March 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Florida Atlantic | L 76–80 | 16–13 (9–8) | 32 – Edwards | 6 – Allen | 3 – Edwards | The Super Pit (4,551) Denton, TX |
| March 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Rice | W 71–55 | 17–13 (10–8) | 21 – Edwards | 7 – Allen | 5 – Noland | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,937) Houston, TX |
| AAC Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | (7) | vs. (10) Tulane Second Round | W 81–71 | 18–13 | 23 – Noland | 8 – Jones | 5 – Tied | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| March 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | (7) | vs. (2) Florida Atlantic Quarterfinals | L 71–77 | 18–14 | 26 – Edwards | 8 – Allen | 2 – Tied | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 19, 2024 6:00 p.m., SECN | | at (4) LSU First Round - Seton Hall Bracket | W 84–77 | 19–14 | 21 – Noland | 7 – Tied | 4 – Jones | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (2,210) Baton Rouge, LA |
| March 23, 2024 10:30 a.m., ESPN2 | | at (1) Seton Hall Second Round - Seton Hall Bracket | L 58–72 | 19–15 | 23 – Edwards | 7 – Noland | 5 – Scott | Walsh Gymnasium (1,204) South Orange, NJ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source